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Ailing Kimi Antonelli nears F1 title in Mexico as he aims to become youngest champion
Antonelli can also become the first Italian driver to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
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If Kimi Antonelli was still feeling the effects of an illness that kept him from a media session, it certainly didn’t show on the track.
The 20-year-old Mercedes driver — who is aiming to become the youngest champion in Formula 1 history this weekend — finished second and fourth in the two practice sessions for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Friday.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped both sessions to show continued strong form, having finished third in the last two races.
Antonelli, who has the Formula 1 title well within his grasp, missed a media session on Thursday due to a viral infection. But he looked good in his first shot at the Mexico City Hermanos Rodríguez race track.
To secure the title and break the record set by Sebastian Vettel — the youngest champion at 23 in 2010 — Antonelli can finish as low as ninth on Sunday.
Antonelli wants to seal the deal with another big result, but he could also do it without scoring another point if someone other than Lewis Hamilton or George Russell wins Sunday's race.
“I’m very excited. I would love to clinch the title in style with a great result,” Antonelli said after taking his ninth win of the season in Texas last week. “That’s the mindset. I’m just going to try to enjoy every moment because they’re moments that will always be remembered.”
Antonelli can also become the first Italian driver to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Mercedes can clinch the constructors' title on Sunday for the first time since 2021.
Mercedes hit the ground running under this season's new regulations, with George Russell’s victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Defying predictions that this would be Russell's year, Antonelli surged ahead by winning five consecutive races as his teammate faded. Russell struggled to explain his lack of pace after finishing eighth in Austin last week.
Hamilton’s woes in Mexico
Hamilton finished fourth in the first practice session, and it looked like it might be a good day for the the seven-time world champion. However, he reported a loss of power roughly halfway through the second session.
“Something is wrong with the car,” Hamilton said over the radio. “I lost all power at turn 13.”
Ferrari team officials told him to pull off the track and bring his car to a stop.
Verstappen and Lawson get into it
During the second practice session, there was contact between Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson that resulted in a red flag.
“He just straight up ran into me,” Lawson said over the radio. “Just like he literally does every single weekend.”
Lawson is on a one-year contract with Racing Bulls, the sister outfit to parent team Red Bull Racing, where Max Verstappen is the lead driver.
“When he saw me coming, he suddenly began to accelerate. I don’t know what was going on in his head, that he wanted to drive me off the track in the hairpin,” Verstappen told Sky Sports. “That’s not very wise behaviour of someone in his position, to choose a fight with me.”
The Cadillac dilemma
Colton Herta took the wheel of Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac for Friday's first practice, with Bottas' future still unclear. Herta finished last in the first session, 3.237 behind LeClerc.
Herta is trying to secure the points needed to obtain his F1 super license, which would make him eligible for a seat next season.
“I was under the impression if I do this, I get the super license," Herta said about completing 100 kilometers in México. “We will have to wait and see”.
Cadillac has yet to score a point since joining F1 this year, and its debut season has included some painful learning experiences, including a long-running problem with the brakes overheating.
Sergio Pérez recently signed a two-year contract extension through 2029, but Cadillac has yet to confirm whether Bottas will stay with him.
Herta would give the American team an American driver, but the former IndyCar prodigy has had a disappointing year in Formula 2 and is just 19th in the standings.
“I think he is doing a good job. He is bringing good feedback to the team, good information, which is all that we need of him,” Pérez said of Herta.
The altitude factor
The 2,240-meter (7,350-foot) altitude above sea level will pose a challenge for participants in the Mexico City Grand Prix. According to Russell, the Ferrari team could have an advantage.
At this altitude, thin air starves the engines of oxygen — resulting in a loss of power — and makes it more difficult to prevent vehicle components, such as the brakes, from overheating.
“It’s going to be very interesting,” said Russell. “I think turbo lag is going to be a major factor for many teams this weekend. It’s no secret that teams like Ferrari use a smaller turbo than most, so they likely have a significant advantage in this regard.”
